Medium is becoming an interesting writing community that actually pays

To get it out of the way, the pros and cons of Medium have been discussed thoroughly elsewhere. But in a recent newsletter, the company shared some stats about its paid membership program that I think are at least worthy of discussion.

In short, Medium’s membership program sounds kinda like Netflix. It charges readers $5/month, then divides that money between the writers of all the articles people read. For now, Medium doesn’t even take a cut off that $5; the full amount goes to writers.

Eventually, I wager Medium will have to do something like either raise that price or start taking a cut. But I applaud the company’s effort to avoid advertising.

For example, here are a few of July’s payment stats:

47% of authors or publications who wrote at least one story for members earned money. 9.8% of active authors earned over $100.

$16,007.02 was the most earned by an author, and $2,260.42 was the most earned by a publication.

$2,059.72 was the most earned for a single story.

Medium also put out a call for stories on topics they want to feature in August. I think the company is doing a good job venturing beyond its tech roots:

Code as Art: Stories celebrating the creative side of coding.

Losing My Religion: Perspectives on parting ways with faith, for better or for worse.

Not Another First Time Story: Reflections on doing something unexpected for the first time (particularly off the beaten path, so no: first ex; yes: first hex).

If you write something in any of these ballparks, email editors@medium.com with the subject line “Partner Program Submission” and the title of your piece.